The Obama administration had a hand in assisting the blind Chinese lawyer- Chen Guangchen escape from the ‘motherland’ – China. For Obama and crew the decision to help the self educated lawyer was a delicate one. After all, Mr Chen was under house arrest for the ‘crime’ of exposing the fact that communist officials in China actively sterilize people and force women to undergo late-term abortions. The problem for Obama was that if the US were to help, then the US would be taking a stand against China’s brutal regime.

The background is that Chen was under house arrest for ‘crimes against the state’- a euphamism for ‘telling the truth in China. While unconstitutional, the practice of house arrest is quite common in China. The communist party, however, does not like to air their dirty laundry, as it were.

For the communists, a man like Chen was problematic, and needed to be stifled. But then again he was problematic for the US as well. How could the US leaders help such a person? How could Obama actually take a stand against the leaders of China? Would it have been possible for Obama to do something as simple as say, “Hey Mr. communist leader, don’t you think you should slow down the abuse of your people?”

But of course Obama cannot or will not do this.

The reason is that in China the human offenses typically spring from members of the ruling communist party. Calling into question such a thing as the sanctity of freedom and life is akin to an attack on the ruling class in the PRC. Highlighting such abuses would cause the communists to ‘lose face’.

Another problem is Washington’s hypocritical stance on human rights abuses and China. Washington can castigate the Chinese and call for change, but in reality this is all bluster. For instance, how would Obama feel about decrying China’s abuses after his cheerful meetings with Hu Jintao- aka the ‘Butcher’. Yes, Mr. Hu, China’s President and leader of the communist party obtained the moniker ‘the butcher’, for his reign of terror on Tibet. Here is a quote from the book –Bowing to Beijing: How Barack Obama is Hastening America’s Decline and Ushering A Century of Chinese Domination-Decker and Triplett II

“Hu Jintao, the current general secretary of the Communist Party…the president of the People’s Republic, has a lot of Tibetan blood on his hands. In March 1989, Hu declared martial law and ordered PLA troops to fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters led by shaved-headed, Saffron-robed monks. As many as 700 innocents were killed for marching in what would be considered a normal assembly…in Washington, D.C. “

Would Washington lose credibility by decrying China’s deplorable abuse of its citizens while at the same time currying favor with a man known for ordering the death of innocent monks?

Perhaps I am selling Mr Obama short, for when confronted with a person such as Mr Hu, Obama knew that any discourse on helping mankind would fall on deaf ears.

Or maybe it is poor statesmanship to call out the failings of a country in front of its leader, I am sure that Germany in the late 30’s would not have stood for such a thing. But I digress….

The truth is that Obama and company would like to laud the fact that it was they who freed this one man from the terrors he had faced. And sure enough, that action was admirable. But my question is if that was enough.